The Kiss
by madladypoet
Summary: One-Shot set after The Dark Knight. Bruce/Rachel centered. Please do not read if you have not seen The Dark Knight!


_You will always need Batman._

The kiss should have told him everything. Their last kiss when he had pulled her head close to him and their lips met, her lips felt resistant as if they were unsure of the man she was kissing. As they parted, she smiled at him in an attempt to be reassuring, but that reassurance did not quite meet her eyes. Bruce left her wanting to believe that she still loved him and would wait for him. He needed to believe it. Doing so kept him sane.

_I'm marrying Harvey Dent._

Now, holding her last letter in his hands, he knew the truth. Rachel had stopped loving him, had stopped believing in him. Bruce realized that she had probably watched the press conference where Harvey gave himself up as Batman and was subsequently arrested. Bruce had moved forward to interject. He even had a jumpdrive of evidence to prove that he was the true Batman. Bruce had put his lawyers on alert that he would be arrested and would need to be arraigned. Everything was worked out. Bruce had a plan. Unfortunately, thought Bruce, as he walked through his penthouse, even the best laid plans go astray.

_I will always be your lifelong friend._

One look from Harvey Dent stopped Bruce cold in his tracks. Bruce realized that Harvey had a plan of his own—protect the real Batman so the vigilante could find the Joker and put an end to the terror the sociopath was waging on the city. Holding on to Rachel's letter, Bruce knew that she had decided to end any potential relationship they could have because he had not stepped forward. Crumpling the letter in his hands, Bruce realized that he needed more than that and his hope was that Rachel, who understood him better than anyone, would be that person.

_Love always, Rachel_

Walking over to his nightstand, Bruce pulled out a lighter. Sitting on the bed, he held the letter in his hand. Bruce knew that he had been selfish. Much like the Joker, who lived to see people destroy themselves, Bruce was aware that as Batman he had always caused pain and that someone had to suffer so he could bring justice to Gotham. Sighing, he laid back on his bed with his lighter in one hand and Rachel's letter in the other. Today, because of his actions, Rachel died and Harvey Dent had been horribly disfigured. Bruce knew that he could easily lay the blame at the hands of the Joker, any of the mobsters running around Gotham or even the corrupt police force. No, thought Bruce, the Joker was right. He, Batman, was as much as of a freak as the Joker. He caused the deaths of these two people and in doing so; he probably saved himself the heartache of watching Rachel marry another man. She deserved better, thought Bruce, and so did Harvey.

_The Night is Darkest Just Before the Dawn_

Bruce gritted his teeth. He felt tears slip out. Everyone he had ever loved, cared about or respected ended up dead because of him: his parents, Rachel and even Harvey. All of them deserved better and it was his fault they died. He became Batman to stop injustice, but what had he really achieved? For every Scarecrow and Falcone, there was a Joker and Maroni. Every criminal put away only led to others that emerged who were even worse. In order to put these men away, Batman would have to become like them. Bruce could not do that even as badly as he wanted to kill the Joker. Lucius pointed out to him once that in the war he was waging that causalities would be involved and those causalities would be people Bruce cared about.

_The Dawn is Coming._

Sitting up, Bruce held out the letter and with his thumb, he lit the lighter. Applying the flame to the paper, Bruce watched Rachel's last words to him burn. He put the burning letter into an ashtray on the nightstand and watched it dissolve into ash. Tomorrow was Rachel's funeral and since there were very little remains left, the rest of her was to be cremated. By this time tomorrow, thought Bruce, there would be nothing left of Rachel Dawes for him to remember except for that kiss. Walking over to his view of Gotham city, Bruce saw a sunrise beginning in the east. As the light began to stream through his windows, Bruce imagined Rachel once again standing there and smiling at him as she had on that day. This time, the smile was real and her love for him actually met her eyes. The image held and faded. He knew that at some point Rachel had loved him and that even in her rejection, she still cared about him. That meant a great deal to Bruce and he would use it to sustain himself in the dark days ahead.Today was the first day of the rest of his life without Rachel. The dawn had arrived and in it, Bruce Wayne found the strength to keep going.


End file.
